While GCSE and A Level students come to the end of their exams, other year groups at Benenden are enjoying ACE Week this week – a packed week of off-timetable activities bridging discovery with great fun. As part of ACE Week, our Upper Fourth (Year 8) students have enjoyed a fantastic voyage across Belgium, taking in all the sights, sounds and delicious food.
After an early tunnel crossing, the group stopped in beautiful Bruges for a picnic in the park. They then wandered gently through the streets, taking lots of photos, and ending up in the main Market Square for waffles and ice cream. Everyone enjoyed a snooze in the air-conditioned coach until arriving at their evening meal on the terrace of a lovely restaurant near Givet.
The highlight of the first day came after sunset. Students climbed the steep hill to Castle Bouillon, where they were met at the door by costumed guides. The guides gave the group flaming torches to help them find their way around the maze of tunnels, dungeons and ramparts of this huge medieval stronghold, offering lots of interesting facts on over 1,000 years of History.
On day two the group took a short drive to the Euro Space Centre. The students were challenged with activities that train astronauts for space travel, such as a free fall slide, the multi-axis rotating chair and the centrifuge rotor (with a disappearing floor!). They also walked on Mars and the Moon using virtual reality sets while suspended on a bungy. Then it was time to learn key facts about space travel from the interactive Space Tour and the 5G movie experience.
Every group made a rocket using solid fuel and a built-in parachute. The day ended with a competitive launch to see the rockets fly over 100m high at over 70mph! On the way back to the hotel, students enjoyed a superb meal in a traditional Belgium restaurant.
On the third day – in the increasing heat! – they took the coach to Brussels. The students enjoyed exploring the iconic monument, Atomium, a model of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times and standing over 100m tall. The immersive light and music show, representing a journey through space and time, was particularly popular (and a perfect background for making TikTok videos!). Then from the giant atomic model, it was on to the miniature sights of the Mini Europe model village.
Another lovely meal was relished before heading off to Dunkirk port, close to the beaches of the famous WW2 evacuation of 1940. The students’ journey back to England was far easier, however, with a meal onboard in the glorious evening sunshine.